Kung Pao Chicken

Asian cuisine might not seem like a normal entree to post on the blog the day after Christmas, but it's necessary because it's really the only "real food" that I have to post right now!  This was a Cooking Light recipe that I had tagged to make once I received the December magazine.  I cooked it up for mom and dad the other night and we enjoyed it with some brown rice.  I did add a bit too much cayenne pepper (I had also used a hot chili sesame oil) so it definitely had a kick to it.  Ron had some leftovers though and said he really liked it.  Dad really enjoyed it deeming it an "8 at a chinese restaurant."  But, mom and I had to make sure we had a peanut with every bite to take the spice down a notch.

It was very easy to mix together and an alternative to your chinese take-out.  Even though it's a cooking light recipe, I think it's totally ok to add more peanuts.  Honestly, 2 Tbsp of peanuts?!  Who are they kidding??
Quick and Easy Kung Pao Chicken
from Cooking Light, December 2010
Yield:  about 4 servings
Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 Tbsp lower sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp bottle minced ginger
• 1 to 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper (about 1 large)
• 1 cup snow peas, trimmed
• 2 Tbsp (or more) chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Instructions

1. Heat sesame oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onion to pan; saute 3 minutes or until softened.  Add garlic; saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly.  Add chicken; saute 3 minutes or until chicken begins to brown.
2. Combine 3/4 cup water and the next 5 ingredients (through crushed red pepper), stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves.  Add water mixture to pan; bring to a boil.  Add bell pepper and snow peas to pan; cook for 2 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender and sauce thickens.
3. Sprinkle with nuts and serve with rice.  Enjoy!

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Lunch is always a predicament for me.  I'm not big on eating anything too heavy, but I get bored with salads and sandwiches.  So, this stir-fry is absolutely perfect.  It took literally about 5 minutes to prep, taking about 15 minutes total from start to finish.  Add some sliced almonds, sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds, and serve with rice.  You can even add chicken or beef!  Delicious, filling, and ridiculously easy.  I know I promote these often, but if you work, I suggest investing in these individual rice bowls that can be found near in the rice in your grocery store.  You can bring leftover veggies to work, along with an individual Minute rice bowl, and save yourself a lot of money dining out!

Vegetable Stir-Fry
from Swanson
Yield:  4 servings
Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 cups cut vegetables (broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, baby carrots, celery, etc.)
• 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root or 1/8 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions

1. Stir the broth, cornstarch and soy sauce in a small bowl until the mixture is smooth.
2. Heat the oil in a 10" skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the vegetables, ginger root and garlic and stir-fry until they're tender-crisp.
3. Add the broth mixture to the skillet.  Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens.  Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, if desired.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken

I didn't always appreciate quinoa.  I think it might've been because I couldn't pronounce it properly.  (It's pronounced keen-wah.)  Today, I cannot get enough of this grain.  I recently learned that quinoa has ancient origins that date back 5,000+ years ago to the Inca civilization of South America.  It was so important to their culture that they referred to the grain as the Mother Grain.  And with good reason!   Quinoa has more high quality protein than any other grain.  Plus, it is gluten free.  This is essential for my training purposes.

 

This quinoa stir-fry was prepared for my weekly lunches.  It is incredibly healthy, can be easily adapted (made w/o egg and + tofu, made w/ additional vegetables, etc) and is so delicious!   The recipe makes a ton and 1 serving is definitely filling.  As mentioned in a previous posting, I've found that the key to making a successful stir-fry comes with prepping the ingredients beforehand.  Time to prepare is probably about 10 minutes (depending on your chopping skills) and time to cook is less than 10 minutes.  YUM!   

On an unrelated note, I'm in the process of updating this blog.  Ron's been working with me to fix the font and the background, etc.  Hopefully it can be debuted at some point soon.  I know my 3 readers (thanks, guys!) would love looking at something with a better format.

Quinoa Stir-Fry with Vegetables and Chicken

adapted from Handle the Heat who adapted from Self magazine

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 small carrot, thinly sliced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped (or half red/half green)
• 1/3 cup sliced & chopped mushroom
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic, sliced
• 1 small red chile, chopped (optional)
• 2 cups snow peas, trimmed
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• 4 oz grilled chicken breast, chopped
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1/2 cup dill (or cilantro)
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

Directions

1. Place quinoa in a small saucepan with 3/4 cup water and 1/4 tsp salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until quinoa absorbs water, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork and leave uncovered. 
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook carrot, stirring occasionally, until it softens, about 1 minute. Add mushroom, bell pepper, ginger, garlic and chile, if desired; cook, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. 
3. Add peas, sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute. 
4. Remove vegetables and return skillet to heat; add quinoa, along with egg. Cook, stirring constantly, until egg is evenly distributed, about 2 minutes. 
5. Add vegetables, chicken, scallions, dill or cilantro and soy sauce; cook 1 minute more.
6. Divide stir-fry among 4 bowls; serve warm.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Orange Sauce (for Two)

We love stir-fry around here!  I certainly make it often because it's so easy.  Plus, I am a big fan of dinners that you eat from a bowl.  They are always easy and always delicious.


I decided to mix this shrimp up a bit.  Instead of the typical rice, I mixed it with some pasta shells.  I also scaled down the recipe for the shrimp to cook up a 2 serving meal.  I added some carrots and peas to my bowl and omitted them from Ron's.  Perfect!  The carrots and peas can easily be incorporated to the recipe (as reflected below).  We were both very surprised at how flavorful the meal turned out.  The orange shrimp had such a unique flavor and the meal seemed to get better with each bite.  Don't be turned off by the unpleasant color/picture, this dish was very good and very filling!
Note: you can find the original measurements for 4 servings by clicking on the Cooking Light link.

Stir-Fried Shrimp with Orange Sauce
adapted from Cooking Light 
Yield:  2 servings
Ingredients

• 1/2 box medium shells
• 3/4 lb. peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
• 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
• 1 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 1/2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. chili paste, such as sambal oelek
• 1 Tbsp. canola oil
• 1/2 Tbsp. minced ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 3 Tbsp. chopped green onions
• 1/2 c. sliced carrots
• 1/2 c snap peas
• 1/4 c sliced almonds

Directions

1. Cook pasta shells according to package instructions.  Drain and set aside in bowl.
2. Place shrimp in a medium bowl.  Sprinkle with cornstarch; toss well to coat.  Set aside.
3. Combine juice, soy sauce, honey, vinegar, and chile paste, stirring with a whisk; set aside.
4. Heat canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add minced ginger and garlic to pan; stir-fry for 15 seconds or until fragrant. 
5. Add shrimp mixture; stir-fry for 3 minutes. 
6. Add juice mixture, carrots, peas and onions; cook 2 minutes or until sauce thickens and shrimp are done, stirring frequently. 
7. Once cooked, pour shrimp and sauce mixture in pasta bowl.  Toss well to coat evenly.
8. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice

For the past few weekends, I've been preparing large batches of rice mixtures to eat for the 1st half of the week.  These rice mixtures (needs a better name) have turned out to be excellent.  They are flavorful, nutritious and easy.  Best of all, they are great for my recovery period.  On Mondays (in particular), my training is pretty heavy.  I get up, grab a quick bite for breakfast and I'm in the pool for about 45-60 minutes.  I have about a 10-15 minute break to change and grab a few bites of an energy bar before I am on a spin bike (soon to be my road bike, hopefully, please weather!) for another 60-120 minutes.  And, this is just the beginning stages of an 18-week program!  Considering I have to be at work and ready for an 8-hour day at school by 12:30/1:00, some days can get pretty tricky (especially if I'm having a hard time dragging myself out of bed and into freezing cold water).


I'm normally rushing back in the door around 11:00 and by the time I'm showered and dressed, I must get on the road.  Here is where these rice mixtures come in brilliantly.  One of the most important aspects of a "training regime" is the recovery stage that takes place within an hour after a workout.  With that much endurance, I need food to restore my depleted muscles.  I normally have a lunch-sized portion of my mixture set and ready to grab out of the fridge.  I eat some protein in the car and I'm off!  Lunch is reheated at the office and I'm all settled in for the day (despite the fact that my hair is always dripping wet at school, oh well).


This rice mixture is fabulous!  Seriously, it is incredible and it took about 7 minutes cooking time!  After reading through the recipe before prepping, I realized that there isn't much downtime to measure out ingredients so I spent about 5 minutes getting everything in order before I started the skillet.  I'd recommend doing the same.  This recipe is great and so easy to substitute.  You can swap the protein and the veggies with whatever you prefer.  I plan to use this as a base for a lot of future rice mixtures.  The link takes you to the original recipe (C.C's used shrimp!!), but I made some changes and reflected them in my recipe below.

Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
adapted from Sugar Cooking who adapted from Closet Cooking
Yield:  About 5 1.25-cup servings.
Ingredients

• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 2 shallots (thinly sliced)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 egg (lightly beaten)
• 3 tbsp chicken stock (or vegetable broth)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup nuts (I used cashews and almonds)
• 3-4 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 cup pineapple, bite sized pieces
• Protein - I used about 1 cup of shredded/cooked chicken
• 1 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
• 2/3 c peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1/4 c currants (or raisins)
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 2 green onions (sliced)

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add the shallots and garlic.  Stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute.
3. Add the egg and stir-fry for about 1 minute.
4. Add the chicken stock, soy sauce, curry powder and sugar; stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
5. Add the nuts and stir-fry for about 30 seconds.
6. Add the rice, break up any clumps and stir-fry for a few minutes.
7. Add your protein and soy sauce.  Gently stir.
8. Add the pineapple, peas and currants.  Stir-fry to mix them in.
9. Remove from heat and serve with sliced green onions.

Beef and Broccoli Orange Stir-Fry

Ron and I love chinese take-out.  Unfortunately, chinese take-out is another one of those foods that I can't seem to eat anymore.  :(  So, I've been working with other ways to satisfy these cravings!  I've turned to making a lot of stir-fry recipes.  Stir-frys can be so fast and simple and such a winning combination of fantastic ingredients.  This stir-fry worked out pretty well and was very, very tasty.  I normally empty the stir fry skillet to brown rice but I decided to use soba noodles to add some more nutrients.  Soba noodles are awesome and buckwheat-rich!


I found this recipe in the Clean Eating magazine but you can easily substitute ingredients.  For instance, you can sub regular linguine or whole wheat spaghetti for the noodles.  You can add chicken strips instead of the beef, etc.  It was very simple to make and only took about 45 minutes total to prep.


My only complaint?  I should've added more broccoli!  I forgot how good broccoli can taste with noodles, especially these ones!

Beef and Broccoli Orange Stir-Fry
adapted from Clean Eating
Yield:  6 servings.  Nutrition per 1 cup:  270 calories, 2gfat (0g saturated), 51g carbs, 4g fiber, 14g protein, 520 mg sodium, 10mg cholesterol (thanks, CE editors!)
Ingredients

• 12 oz soba noodles
• Olive oil cooking spray
• 1 lb lean round steak, pounded to 1/4 inch thickness and sliced into strips
• 1/2 cup white onion, diced
• I used a red onion.
• 2 cups fresh broccoli florets, separated into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 red bell pepper, julienne cut
• 3 tbsp low-sodium tamari soy sauce
• Juice 1 medium orange
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp raw organic honey
• 2 tsp whole-wheat flour

Instructions

1. Cook noodles according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2. Heat large nonstick or cast-iron skillet over high heat for 1 minute.  Reduce heat to medium-high, mist pan with cooking spray and saute steak for about 5 minutes or until cooked through.  Remove steak, leaving juices in the pan.
3. Mist same pan again with cooking spray.  Add onion, broccoli and pepper and saute over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until cooked through.
4. In a medium bowl, whisk together soy sauce, orange juice and zest, garlic and honey.
5. Add steak back to vegetables in pan and pour in soy sauce mixture.  Saute steak and vegetables over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes, then whisk in flour to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.  
6. Add noodles to pan and cook until warmed, about 3 more minutes.
7. Remove from heat and serve!